ramblings on the life of art and the art of living…

Red, Black & White Journal (again)

I’ve been rather obsessed with graphic novels lately, and so given the color theme of this journal, I had decided to try my hand at a two page ‘cartoon’ spread. This is my very neophyte result. The color scheme lent itself to ‘creepy’ so I went with a vampire theme. I’ve been longing for some of the old comic books I used to read as a kid: House of Secrets, House of Mystery and Dark Shadows. If I would have remembered the titles of the comic books last weekend, I might have been able to find some copies at Meltdown, but it took me a week of searching through my memory archives to finally remember “Barnabas,” one of the main characters that I was so fond of. A Google search gleaned tremendous results. Next time…

I have been in so much pain this last week or so. It all started last Saturday evening, after my jaunt into L.A. My neck started hurting and from there my whole left shoulder, sub-scapula, running all the way into my left arm… some numbness, but mostly jolting pain. I have a referral to the neurologist SOMEwhere, just need to put my finger on it. I was just ready to have someone rip my arm out of its socket to stop the pain (like that makes a WHOLE lot of sense, but…). Working like this is no piece of cake… being productive is an even larger feat… and with a desk as busy as mine, there is no choice in the matter, so I’ve been working my way through the days, with gritted teeth, and by the time I get home I’m fully exhausted (and all but useless). I’ve discovered that slinging my arm helps a bit, so I’ve been doing that when I can. I’ve also poached a few Vicodin from Steve, and took half a tablet this afternoon, in a last ditch attempt to find some relief. I’ll let you know how it works out, as soon as I get up from my nap.

I’d like to blame the advent of this pain on the rain (or rainy weather), but I’m not sure. My PCP (primary care physician) thinks (I’m sure) I’m a hypochondriac… and maybe he’s right… but damn, I’m good at manifesting pain, if that’s the case. To be honest, I’m ready to try for a new doctor who at least makes a good show of pretending to give a shit about his patients.